Helicopter power and control mechanism



June 14, 1949. c. oi DoNLEY HELICOPTER POWERAND CONTROL MEGHANISM Filed oct. 20, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 14, 1949. c. o. DONLEY 2,473,331

HELICOPTER POWER AND CONTROL MECHANISM Filed 001'.. 20, 1944 4 SheeLS-Shee\'I 2 -PIET 5 /lw ZZ. 117 fi ilfllllllllllllfl.ril/,1,l i Il I I l 'E LUQH June 14, 1949.

c. o. DONLEY 2,473,331

HELICOPTER POWER AND CONYTROL MECHANISM Filed 001:. 20, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 June 14, 1949. c.vo. DoNLEY HELICOPTER POWER AND CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Oct. 20, .1944

Patented June 14, 1949 v UNITED HELICOPTER POWER AND CONTROL MECHANISM Carson O. Donley, Indianapolis, Ind., assignor to Vertiiiite, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., a. corporation Application October 20, 1944, Serial No. 559,609

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a helicopter control.

The chief object of this invention is to control helicopter superposed oppositely rotating blades so that the helicopter can hover, rise, lower, move forwardly, backwardly or sidewardly, as well as turn at the will of the operator, said helicopter including but two oppositely rotating multi-bladed rotors.

The chief feature of the invention resides in the pedal, wheel and lever controls and their association with the superposed rotating blades for effecting the helicopter control aforesaid.

Another chief feature of the invention resides in the interposed superposed control rings connected directly to said blades for position or pitch control thereof, so that in rotation the blade position may be varied cyclically.

Another chief feature of the invention consists of the use of automatic cyclic pitch control to effect transverse lift equalization in each rotor, thus permitting a smaller distance between the planes of the upper and lower rotors than could be obtained with rotors in which lift equalization was obtained by hinged, flapping blades, because of the reduction in bending of the rotor blades and hubs with equalized lift in each rotor during forward rotation.

Another feature of the invention in a twobladed rotor embodiment thereof is that the lower rotor may be turned by hand until it is parallel with the longitudinal axis of the helicopter. This action, through the gearing, also will similarly position the upper rotor blades. This will greatly facilitate the parking and storage of the vhelicopter for then the entire space required for storage or parking only will be that equal to the maximum width of the fuselage section in a transverse direction, to the rotor diameter in a longitudinal direction and to the static height of the helicopter in a vertical direction.

Still a further feature of the invention disclosed herein resides in a coaxial contra-rotating rotor helicopter with a minimum distance between the planes of rotation of the upper and lower rotor which permits reduction to a minimumof the size and weight of the helicopter structure, thereby increasing its range of utility and all without loss of the cyclic pitch control function. f

Other objects and features of the invention will beset forth more fully hereinafter.

The full'nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

(Cl. V-135.26)

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the manually operable members for effecting the control, the mechanism directly associated therewith and the connections to the control rings.

Fig. 1A is a central sectional view of a connector between controls.

Fig. 2 is a central sectional view of the control rings and the last mentioned connections thereto and the connections from the master control rings to the adjustably positionable rotatable blades.

Fig. 2A is a side view of an opposed engine with power and clutch connections to the drive shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the hub ends of the upper blades and power and control thereto.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional View of one of the control ring structures and is taken on line iiof Fig. 2 and in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through one manual control lever, a locking arrangement, a manual control associated therewith, and an engine speed, safety control also associated therewith.

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View taken at right angles to Fig. 5 and of the control lever, etc.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings IIJEL and Illb indicate pedals independently and pivotally mounted on shaft IBC. Connected to each pedal as at IIa and l Ib is cable I I passing over pulleys I2. and thencel over double pulley I3 pivoted at I4. Arms I5 also are pivoted at I4 and at one end rotatably support at I6a the wheel I6 about which in groove Stb is positioned the cable II. v

When pedal Ilia is moved forward andpedal Iiib moved rearward, cable II rotates' wheel i6 in one direction, and when the pedals are reversely actuated, wheel I6 is reversely rotated. Reference will be had to the effect of this' action hereinafter.

To the other end of arms I5 is pivotally connected link rod Il connected to bell crank I8 pivoted at I8et and also connected to the rod I9 connected at its opposite end to-arm.2IJ rigid with lever 2l pivoted at 22 and terminating in the hemispherical hand-grip 23.

When this hand-grip is tilted forwardly or rearwardly, arms I5 are turned clockwise or counterclockwise respectively upon pivot It. This moves wheel I6 bodily to the rear or front respectively of its neutral position. l

Since rods 211y and 25 are connectedy to wheel It, cable movement causes these rods inv effect to approach each other, `or rather their remote ends, or to separate, while movement of lever 2l-23 will cause said rods to bodily move forwardly or rearwardly without any relative position change. Note that both controls can be effected in either direction successively or simultaneously.

Pivotally mounted on shaft 22 is lever 26 havlng hemispherical hand-grip 2'l. Arm 28 rigid therewith isi connected to the enginefthrottle control rod-129 loyV which the speed of the engine and hence the speed of blade rotation is controlled.

however, normally simultaneous operation` with one hand would be employed since -the two vcon-` 15` -"'L inkfrody'structurel68 may include a resilient introls are allied in functiorniE irnericanh'elicopters, these members will lodonthel left of the 'v operator and for British helicopters; they'will he' j,

at the right of the operator.

Opposite the arms I are the arms"3l"pivoted at 32, and pivotally supported therebyat 3?a is wheel 33. Concentric with pivot 3251's jthe dual `prille-5MM! and in thegroovedperipl'lery-SBb of said fconnectedvbylink rodll'l-'to theI other-endof arms Slmaforesaidfor tilting tl'eA arms and 3 wheel v33 about pivot'32. Connected" to wheel 33 fare rods Hence, in a similar manner rods iB-:$49 may `be bodily-*movedlforwardly or rearwardly by rocl. y ll-and-by rotation of wheel 40 brimay be caused toseparate-at their outer ends or approach each other'incidentto the movement of cable 3,5 aforensaid -dueto movement ofwheel-'Ml andfpost '152 Vforwardly and rearwardly. These two operations@J in-*either 4directic'm mayv be effect ed lsimultaneously or successively as'desired.

- Reference-will now befhadto-the right-hand portion ofr Fig. 1.y The rein are illustrated-two groups othree rodseach and lsarn'e aredesignatedas saisi-,f 52; sagst-andriafreaaing from1-11eft to rightg-Tothe left of'theserods is cross-shaft 56 -and parallel theretois shaft'li rms' rigidly Hconnect-saine together. One `larm includes? `ex- \'tensionf 59 to which rod25is connected,

In like manner'betweenthe two sets oirods is positioned shaft 60--and parallel theretov is shaft 6lf^TheseY are connected together by arms v652 and one of them has extension-6 3`conne'cte`d to'the 4other Aend offrod 2,4.

Hence,'-when arms 5 arepivoted clockwise, the

shafts 51^and-6| aresimultaneously tilted upwardly and counter-clockwise about the faxes of shafts 56" and 6B; lwhentiltedreversely,natmally shafts 51 and El correspondingly lower. l=lowever,. v

when wheel IB is rotated clockwise', shaft-,51 lowers while shaft il'rises.V `When wheel i6 is reversely frctated,vshaftl51\is raised and shaft 6 l' is lowered. Shaft `5'I has rotatably supported thereon? bell crank'Bll-havingone end connected tothe lower' end of control rod 52,v L The other -e nd of 'said bell crank-is connected tothe other erdof rod 49 connectedto wheel-33. On shaft 6l is rotatably supportedthe bell crank 65,one endl of which is con- -nected to the lower end of control rod 55 and the" other end of which is connected to one end of rod 48; the other end of which is connected to the ywheel 33a Thus-when rod 41 (jdue to wheel 4l) rotation) is larly, i. e. raised or lowered. When post 42 is moved forward or backward, the rods 52 and 55 are moved oppositelT of each other, to-wit, up and down respectively or vice versa respectively.

5 Rod 5I at its lower end connects to one end of the bell crank 66 while the rod 54 at its lower end connects to one end of a similarly directed bell jV crank 6111 These bellf'o'ranks are rotatably supported uponshafts 5li`andf El' respectively. The

other ends of said bell cranks are connected to- The two hand-grips 23-21 may be shifted in- 5 dependently of each other ,or fsimultaneously,jm n

y ably connected one end of rod 10 having its other 'gether by link rod structure 68 having links 63 andESb-mounting bracket 69 to which is suitend also connected to bracket 3l on post i2.

" terrrediatez'onnection, see Fig. 1A, same being enclosed'by -thef'tubular portion of bracket B9, said connection preventing binding of the parts. Thus movement forwardly and rearwardly of post 32 2o causes lowering andi-raising respectively and simultaneously-of :control .rods 51 and sa.

The lower'endiof rod 50 is4 connected to arm similarly connected to'a'rm 'l2fsimilarly secured to fand lowered respectivelyfor viceii versa, :or are lsinuiltaneoiisly raisedfnnfloweredthe control rods 5E! and 53 partake of corresponding movements.

VNaturally inail cases the .amount o'movement impartedu to the several .rods4 511 Zto'55 inclusive is proportional to @the :amount: of` ,'rnanuali vcontrol movement effected fat lthe pedals, the post, the

wheel and -thev hand vlever: FThe@ extent*` othese movements-ares@ proportioned-astoproduce both .35 reasonable control pressuresfandproper. aerodynamic eiects.

The foregoing constitutes fa 'detailed description of the several con-trol-members-1theconnections. theref-rom,v.and\the .respective control .rods

Vand specific-movements :of` samer.- -Before=describ inghow these effect-helicoptercontrol, .it appears desirable'to refe1'-to-Fig.4 2 lforthe .control ring disclosures, theirl connections to: :the- .adjustable blades and the. control-rod. -connectionsyto -said rings. Following-such description, a brief rsum f of helicopter control-will beincludedherein.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will ybe4 observed that all six` control rods .to 55 inclusiveY .are .illustrated 50 A insofar as the npperwendsv thereof are disclosed. j Fig'. 2l the .,upper.end of .rod` 5.3: connects to one end of bell crank .15-pivoted..at1'l.. :The other end-connects tolink .rod .1.1 connectedto oneend lof belll crank 1-8, pivoted-at. 19, theother-end being 5 .connected to the lowerend .of .rod 811.-. `Rod .at

its upper. end`connects to one-endof lcverl .pivlo tedat IlZAandtlfi'ev other endconnects tothe. lower endof rod83..'1`he.uppen end ot rod .5E is' simivl la'r'ly associ'atedwith the. lower end.. :3f-...rod 8d. Rod 8l): -raises and lowers only the. upperfcontrol structure. "The, `controls 'in Fig.' `1 also eilect similar 4raising a'dlbwering; respectively .of. rods 83. and 84. y Y

An inn'er control ring "8 5^ is`"ant*-fri`ctionally supported on "the upper' end'ofstationarytube i212 fand"externallyithereo. Controlrod to is connected tofsaid'ring-rfAsecond-ring 86 is dia- "metricallylpivdtedat'58-1on ring 85 and connected to ring86 isf the upperiendif rod`r BS-InI-likeman- 0 neifringr88'.' sd'arnetricallypivoted-aat fSS upon ring 86, such pivoting being transverse .tothatat 81h This is a universalijointzarrangement; Rods 83 and Sloan' eachitilttheirirespectiverings independently'. offthei other vor bothfsimultaneously. -1 Ring 88 includesanupper-:extension-,90 provided actuated, both rods 52 and `.55 are actuatedsimiwith an external "groove'fllfserving:,:as'.a ball:

race for balls 92 retained therein by the two piece outer and pitch control ring 93 to which the lower end of each of the blade pitch control rods 2|9 is suitably secured as at 94.

Actuation of any one of rods 80, 83 or 84, any two of them, or all of them will obviously control the position of the groove 9| wherefore the upper pitch control ring 93 will rotate in a plane determined by said groove.

The lower control ring is similarly actuated. I-Ierein, the inner ring is designated by numeral |85, the next outer ring by |86, the immediate outer ring by |88 and the lower pitch control ring by |93. To the latter is connected the lower end of'each blade pitch control rods 229.

As before, ring |88 is diametrically pivoted on ring |85 at |81 and ring |88 is similarly pivoted on ring |86 at |89, such, however, being transverse to pivots |81. As before, ring |88 includes extension |90 with external groove |9| to seat balls |92 retained by lower control ring |93.

Rod |88, connected to inner ring |85, is operatively connected at its lower end to the upper end of rod 50 in substantially the same manner as rod 88 is connected to rod 53. The true position of rod |88 connection is shown in Fig. 4. For illustration purposes in Fig. 2, section rod |88 is shown approximately 180 from its true position. Likewise rod |83 (connected to ring |88) is operatively connected at its lower end to the upper end of rod '5| in substantially the same manner as rod 83 is connected to rod 54. Also rod |84 (connected to ring |88) is operatively connected to rod 82 in substantially the same manner as rod 84 is connected to rod 55.

Accordingly, the lower control ring |93 is controlled as to its plane of rotation by rods |80, |83 and/or |84 in a manner broadly comparable to but not necessarily specifically the same as upper control ring 93 is controlled or it will be remembered that the several rods 50 to 55 inclusive may eifect selective simultaneous or differential control as desired.

In Fig. 2A 208 indicates an engine such as a conventional four or six cylinder horizontal opposed air cooled airplane engine. This engine is controlled by throttle rod 29 aforesaid, see Fig. 1. Shaft 28| through gear reduction 202 (herein a 3 or 4 to 1 spiral bevel gear reduction) drives shaft 283 to which is connected-a free wheeling unit or equivalent overrunning clutch 204.

Shaft 285 therefrom is rotatably supported in bearing 288 and mounts gears 201 and 208. Gear 281 meshes with gear 209 carried by tubular shaft 2|8 rotatably supported by bearing 2|l. This shaft is the upper rotor support and drive.

A stationary tube 2| 2 supports at its upper end bearing 2|3 that maintains shaft 2|0 vertical or upright. On the upper end and rigid, and hence, rotatable therewith is hub 2| 4 including the desired number of equally spaced radially directed sockets 2 5 in each of which is rotatably mounted a shaft 2|6 carrying blade 2|1. Shaft 2|8 has rigid therewith arm 2| 8 to which is pivotally connected the upper end of a pitch control rod 2| 9. The lower end of same is connected to the upper control ring.

On shaft 285 is gear 208 meshing with idler gear 228. Shaft 205 at its upper end is supported by bearing 22|. This idler gear meshes with gear 222 splined or suitably secured to the lower end of drive tube 2,23 which near its upperend mounts hub 224 having radialsockets 225 to rotatably mount shafts 225 carrying blades 221i Drive 6 tube 223 is carried in bearings 260 and 26|. Each shaft has rigid therewith arm 228 connected to the upper end of :a control rod 229, the lower end of which is connected to the lowei` control L ring.

Rods 50, 5| and 52 control the latter ring and through levers are connected to rods |80, |83 and |84 respectively external of tubular shaft 223. Rods 53, 54, 55 control the upper ring and through levers are connected to rods 80, 83 and 84 respectively external of the tubular shaft 2|0 and sleeve 2|2 and internal of tubular shaft 223.

-The last mentioned levers are positioned below the lower end of shaft 223.

In view of the prior description relative to rods 50 to 55 controlling the upper and lower control rings, no further description is believed necessary. The structure so far described accordingly is directed to oppositely rotatable (equal speed), superposed, coaxial multi-bladed rotors, with non-flapping blades, cyclically controlled to effect thedesired control of the helicopter which requires no other auxiliary or ancillary propeller or rotors.

Operation The foregoing basic disclosure accordingly incorporates a main lift control to accomplish vertical ascent or descent of the helicopter, a forward and rearward control to accomplish forward or blackward flight of the helicopter, a lateral motion control to accomplish side-ways motion to the right or left of the helicopter, and a further control to secure rotation of the body of the machine (fuselage) about a vertical axis by means of unequal torque in the upper and lower rotors.

This invention includes automatic cyclic pitch control; that is, during the rotor rotation the blades of each rotor in each revolution thereof are automatically varied as to pitch.

The automatic cyclic pitch control is used to accomplish control of the helicopter in flight in any desired direction as above mentioned, in addition to eifecting lift equalization in each rotor on each side of lan axis longitudinal with the helicopter through the center of each rotor.

Thus, the pitch of the advancing blade of the upper and lower rotors is decreased and that of the retreating blade (in a four-bladed structure) is increased by properly tilting the pitch control rings, actuated by the same motion of the control utilized to secure forward motion of the helicopter. This action is necessary to secure the above-mentioned equalization of lift in the advancing and retreating blades of each rotor. The magnitude of this cyclic pitch variation is adjusted by properly proportioning the levers, cables, etc., 31, 35, 3|, 32, 34, 33, 33a, 49, 48, 65, G4, and associated control mechanism in Fig. 2, to essentially provide equal lift in each rotor on each side of the aforesaid longitudinal axis. Since the forward motion of the helicopter is controlled by forward motion of post 42, and the necessity for lift equalization in each rotor occurs only through rapid horizontal motion of the helicopter (usually forward) and the consequent variation of the air velocity over advancing and retreatingr rotor blades. then. by suitably proportioning,

K as mentioned above, the magnitude of this cyclic pitch variation. the lift equalization is effected automatically with forward or rearward motion `of post 42. This is the equivalent of the flapping of hinged rotor blades of many single 'lift rotor helicopters.

This is accomplished as follows: Movement of vtheir horizontal axes.

7- ;p'ost 42 upon. shaft. 39 forward or 'backwardopv.eratesrod' 1.0,\used.on'ly for forward and rearward motion, .and cable. l35..

Said post movement :throughcable 35 rotates sheave 33 which actuates rods 48 and 49 so that rods 52 and 55 are differ- :entially actuated to actuate rods 84 and |84 to tilt rings 93 and 93 differentially, that onenup and the other down relatively as it were.

The lmain lift control is lever 2|. To increase Ythe'liitol the helicopter for take-off Aorto obtain increased altitude while in night, this lever is moved forward. This actuates rod `|1 in a similar direction. Naturally to lower the helicopter while in flight, lever 2| is moved toward the rear V(right inFig. `l) and rod l1 moves similarly.

'Rod 'I1 when moved forward (to the left in Fig. '1) tilts members I5 clockwise upon pivot -|4.

Thismoves both rods 24 and 25 towardthe right iso that vnov relative tilting is effected. Hence,

vccnfitrolrings |93 and 93 bodily move down which pull downen rods 228 and 2 I9 respectivelyto tilt .the blades on their horizontal axis and therefore,

change the pitchof same.

Rod l1 movement to the right (see Fig. 1)

similarly causes opposite tilting of theblades upon Pitch increase as aforesaid .or decreaseaslast mentionedcausesan increased :litt ineachrotonor a decreased lift in each rotor and causes the helicopter `to rise or lowerrespectively.

Lateral 'control for obtaining lateral motion of .the-'helicopter is accomplished by rotating 4control wheel'40 about its axis. Rotation counter-clock- '.wise lifts' rod VManci pulls rod 41 forwardly. Rota- "tionclockwise pushes rod l1 rearwardly. These effect turning to the left or right respectively as follows: 'Forward movement of rod 41 tilts the .levers 3|. .counter-clockwise on 'pivot 32. This :moves rods 48 'and 49 rearwardly. This in turn r`raises or tilts arms 65 and Sli respectively counterclockwise on shafts 5| and 51 respectively and .raises rods 55 and'52` respectively. This through 'leverage causes rods 84 and |84 4to lower tilting rings 88 and |88 upon pivots 39 and |89 vrespectively causing control rings 93 and |93 to tilt corzrespondin'gl-y. Notethat the control rings thus Aaredepressed on the right side in Figs 2 .and-.3 .and raised-on the `left side. Consequently, pitch control rods 2 |9 andf229 move'down'and increase "the rotor pitch of the blade -while 'forward or on fthe right side and move up and decrease the rotor 'pitchof the bladeV while rearward or-on the left side.v

This'is a cyclic variation and elects tilting :of "the vhelicopter Ycounter-clockwise about its -hori- -.zonta1.axis for rthis cyclic variation causes aturnmtshafte. Thiscausesextenslon31endured 10 'to move forward. This tiltsdownwardly (clock- This. infturn effects a raising of, rods. 1.83 'fendt-3 to tilt intermediate ringv |06. and rabout. pivots l8s1 andfl whichsimila-rly tiltstheri-ngs land |93 and 8e vand i531 respectively.

Forward motion :may Vbe `stopped by- 'returning thewheel to-its previous neutra-.l position.. Rear- '.moveswdown and the otherup, and viceversa,

4the wheel. .I'B: is :rotated clockwise `amicounterclockwise respectively.

The resultofthis actionis to turn to the .right or left upon the vertical axis of the helicopter such .turning ,being -eiected' through -arms A.11i and 12 :pinned `to shafts 5| and-51. .pedals 4from their normal -fiight position thus pro- Movement of these duces a diierence'ein pitch between the upper-and lower rotors, .thereby making the ytorque unequal between the same Land consequently causing .a `turning movement about the verticalaxis of the helicopter `opposite .of the direction. of rotation ofthe-rotor having thegreater torque.

The production fofsufficient engine power to maintain flight ils-dependent upon'engine Aspeed .and-.herein `(Fig. ll) 20 .indicates a 4throttle rod :controlledlos7 lever 25 having the -hemispherical handle 21. Movement forwardly thereof .secures .increased engi-ne speed .and the reverse .move- `ment Vsectnes vreduced speed.

When each rotor .has .three blades, the 4control lrods .-229 .andZIiLare displaced apart, when there are four-blades the rods are-disp1aced90 apart, and1when there are. but two, as .illustrated herein, the rodsare displaced apart.

Herein pivots 81 and 181 are: horizontally dilrectedand transverse ofthe horizontal longitudilexternally therein is the springlock. |05.v This is a rfree: :expansion ring and pressurecollapsibles This ring .has .teeth v| 058 which .normally engage rinternalperipheral teeth 21a on lever .2|

`-conirontinggroove |04. .Pressure .on the .button |00 releases this spring .lock :by -deforming vring '|:051to provide' tooth clearance relative to'iteeth .2|a .forlift control, otherwise the lever is normallyl'oeked -to the sha-M22 and .is immovablev in whatever position -it has rbeen adjusted.- This eliminates the necessity for lholding lever 22 in the desired position.

Means for automatically returning lthe liftcontrol to auto-rotation pitch includes a .spring- |36,

AFig. l, and :an Aadjustable fstop rset. to Iauto-rotation pitch. VvHereinsolenoidH16l fis included in thesha-ft 22; Associated therewith is 'core'll y.carried .by stem '108 `constrained 4by vconcentric:

conical spring |09 to deenergized position (to the right in Fig. Link I I0 connects said stem to link and bell crank ||2 pivoted at H3. Necessary pin and slot connections are included wherever necessary as for example, between lever ||2 and plunger locking pin I I4 radially reciprocable in tube 22 and seated in hole I5 thereof.

Spring ring |05, diametrically opposite teeth |05a, has aperture I I6 therein for plunger reception. An engine actuatable centrifugally operable switch structure includes shaft I I'I operable proportional to engine speed. Slidable thereon is plate contact I|8 and the weights ||9 are pivotally connected by links to hub |22 pinned to shaft I and to the hub |23 on plate I |8. Springs |24 normally draw the links inwardly and extend plate I I9 to the right, Fig. 5, into engagement with roller contact |25 on the adjustably and insulatably mounted arm |26.

When the engine is operating at a predetermined minimum or greater speed, plate ||9 is held out of contact from roller |25 by centrifugal force upon weights ||9 in opposition to springs |24. 'I'hus the circuit through this switch is autormatically closed when the engine is below minimum speed and opened when the engine attains sufficient speed. A

Line |21 leads from a source of energy |28 to the plate portion I8 of the switch. Line |29 connects insulated arm |26 to solenoid |06. Line |30 therefrom leads to switch contact |3| adapted for contact by arm |32 connected by line |33 to the opposite side of the source |28. Adjacent switch I3||32 is contact |33 connected to a warning signal |34, such as a red light, in turn connected by line |35 to source |28. Now when switch ISI-|32 is open, switch |32-|33 is closed, and the signal is energized. When deenergized, the solenoid circuit is conditioned for operation subject to the engine responsive speed switch as previously described.

The speed control switch upon engine failure or dangerous slow down closes the solenoid circuit and the solenoid core |01 moves left to retract plunger H4. which normally keys together shaft 22 and spring ring |05, from ring aperture ||6. Thereupon opposed springs |36, see Fig l, operatively connected to lever 23, return the lever 23 and the ring |05 to neutral position wherein the pitch of the rotor blades is that required for autogyro operation. The helicopter then glides to a landing, the rotor blades being driven in the manner of an autogyro, since they are disconnected from the engine through the action of the overrunning clutch 204, Fig. 2A.

Removal of the engine failure and the subsequent bringing of the engine up to safe flying speed deenergizes the solenoid |06. The spring |09 in the tube 22 then attempts to force the plunger ||4 outward. The pilot then shifts the arm 23 until the plunger ||4 can seat automatically in the ring aperture ||6. Then button |00 is depressed to release the arm 23 frofm the ring |05. The arm 23, when so released, is returned to starting position and the ring |05 is now locked to shaft 22 as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in great detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character.

The several modifications described herein, as well as others which will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, all are con- 10 sidered to be Within the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

l. A rotor control for a helicopter having a rotor with a variable pitch power blade, a blade pitch varying control member, a control element responsive to rotor speed, a locking member normally constrained to locking relation with said blade pitch control member, manually operable means for unlocking said locking member, and means responsive to operation of said control element incident to rotor speed failure so constructed and arranged to unlock said locking member and to automatically effect auto rotational pitch positioning of the power blade and the blade pitch varying control member connected thereto.

2. In a helicopter control system having a tiltable and rotatable control wheel means, foot operable means adjacent thereto and independent hand operable means adjacent both means, the combination of a pair of controls each including three reciprocable members, a hollow member connected to each reciprocable member and movable thereby, said hollow members of each said -control being connected successively one to another and pivotally adjustable one upon another, a blade pitch control member directly connected to one of the hollow members and responsive to movement of any and all connected hollow members, and means connecting the six reciprocable members to said rst three means for helicopter control.

3. A system as dened by claim 2 wherein means connects certain of the hollow members for simultaneous and similar operation.

4, A system as defined by claim 2 wherein means connects certain of the hollow members for simultaneous and opposite operation.

5. A system as dened by claim 2 wherein means connects certain of the hollow members for similar and simultaneous operation, and other means connects certain other members for opposite and simultaneous operation.

6. In a helicopter having substantially coaxially arranged oppositely rotatable shafts, one extending through the other and with an appreciable space therebetween, variable incidence bladed propellers for each shaft and rotatable thereby, means at each propeller hub for blade incidence variation, means external of each shaft for last mentioned means control, the control means external of the inner shaft extending through the outer shaft, and a single means provided for simultaneously actuating each of the external means.

CARSON O. DONLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,919,089 Breguet et a1 July 18, 1933 1,986,709 Breguet et al Jan. 1, 1935 2,070,610 Myers Feb. 16, 1937 2,256,635 Young Sept. 23, 1941 2,271,473 Bennett Jan. 27, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 185,827 Switzerland Nov. 2, 1936 302,752 Great Britain Dec. 27, 1928 

